When I Was Younger, So Much Younger Than Today

Jose Maria Lopez chats with Heikki Kovalainen at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, during the 2005 GP2 series. Lopez has been the first driver confirmed for the 2010 season for US F1. Lopez was linked with the team several months ago, but has now secured the funding he required to get the drive.

Credit: GP2 Series Media Service

Junior Senior

Mark Webber tests out the new GP3 chassis at Paul Ricard today. GP3 is a feeder series which is launching in 2010 to run alongside the GP2 events. The ten teams signed up to the series were invited to the circuit today to watch the car in action and talk to the technical partners involved in the sport including Dallara, Hewland and Pirelli.

Credit: Alastair Staley/GP3 Series Media Service

Renault – Adam Khan gets his first taste of the R28

ING Renault F1 Team demonstration driver, Adam Khan, got his first taste of Formula 1 action on Sunday when he climbed aboard the R28 for a shakedown test at Paul Ricard in the South of France.

Adam spent the day getting acclimatised to the car that he will demonstrate throughout the year at city and circuit demonstrations as part of the team’s 2009 Roadshow programme.

“It was an awesome experience,” enthused Adam as he climbed from the cockpit. “The team did and excellent job of getting me comfortable and used to the all systems on the car. The power from the V8 engine was impressive, but these modern Formula 1 cars are so driveable that I quickly got up to speed and I now have some valuable experience under by belt. I’m now looking forward to my first demonstration run in Dubai in April.”

Colin, Hale, the Coordinator for Renault’s Roadshow activities added: “The programme focussed on getting Adam comfortable in the car and giving him some mileage behind the wheel. He quickly adapted to the car, worked well with the engineers and everything went smoothly. Overall it was a positive first day in the car.”

Adam will be back in the car on the 11th of April when the ING Renault F1 Team Roadshow kicks off its 2009 campaign with a trip to Dubai for a demonstration on the streets of the city.

30-Jun-08: Coulthard Speaks About His Uncertain Future

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 30^th June 2008.

David Coulthard is usually pretty quiet on the subject of his future, which never stops the silly season rumours from flying without abandon. However, today he’s spoken out a little about his future. What he actually says is that he doesn’t know what the future holds, and whilst he would love to keep driving, he knows that it’s very possible the coming race could be his very last British GP. He says there are worse things in life than not having a drive and when the time comes he will move on gracefully.

The BMW boys have differing opinions on how they will fare at this weekend’s race, with Heidfeld confident that the improvements from the recent test will help them get back to form. Kubica, meanwhile, says that their dismal French GP performance will hopefully kick everyone into a new gear, and that Silverstone needs to be a turning point for the team.

And finally, the boss of the Paul Ricard test track, Phillippe Gurdijan has retired and will concentrate on his new project – helping the Abu Dhabi circuit organisers.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

19-May-08: Vettel to Suffer 5-Place Grid Drop in Monaco

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Today is the 19^th May and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

The Monaco Grand Prix weekend hasn’t even begun yet and already Sebastian Vettel has secured himself a five-place grid drop. After testing out the new STR3 at Paul Ricard last week, and saying he was looking forward to running the new car, Vettel has had a setback. The new car cannot house the gearbox in the same way as the old one, and so it will have to be replaced. Under current four-race gearbox rules, that means a 5-place penalty. Team mate Bourdais doesn’t suffer the same fate as he didn’t finish the last race in Turkey. Team owner Gerhard Berger has said: “Monte Carlo is the last place you want a punishment like that.”

Elsewhere, Frank Williams has admitted that he regrets splitting from former engine partners BMW, after seeing how well the manufacturer team is doing by itself. Williams blames the difficult relationship between the two factions on a lack of communication, but said he couldn’t fault BMW on their hard work and decent engines. He did make sure to complement current engine suppliers Toyota as well.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

16-May-08: Trulli Finishes Final Test Day on Top

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 16th May.

The last day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit was a wet affair with rain showers throughout the session. Trulli managed to set the fastest time during one of the breaks in the rain, ahead of Piquet in the Renault. For the past two days the track has been set up to imitate the demands of the Monaco street circuit, but this third day saw revisions made to replicate the Canadian circuit. 

Heidfeld caused a red flag by running off track and damaging the suspension at the back of his car, and Sutil also caused a red flag in the last hour of the day.

Also today, the FIA have announced that Mosley won’t be attending any functions as an official representative of the organisation in Monaco. Mosley announced his intention to attend the race a while ago, and after rumours that the teams will try and avoid him, plus attempts to try and keep Prince Albert of Monaco from any embarrassing situations, Mosley will have to keep a low profile. Instead, deputy president Marco Piccinini will fulfill the duties. A statement said Mosley is in full agreement with this situation.

That’s all for this week, have a great weekend and join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.

15-May-08: Raikkonen Leads the Way at Paul Ricard

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This is F1 Minute for the 15th May 2008.

The second day of testing at Paul Ricard saw Raikkonen on top for Ferrari, with Kovalainen second on the timesheets for McLaren. Raikkonen was not only fastest today but also beat Hamilton’s time from yesterday. 

Sutil completed the fewest number of laps with 56 because he was sharing the test with Fisichella, who completed 64. They were at the bottom of the timesheets.

Nelson Piquet took over testing duties for Renault and finished eighth fastest, having completed the most number of laps – 193. However, it does appear that he needs to be putting the effort in, as the most recent Renault podcast has highlighted some doubts about his performance so far. Sporting Manager Steve Nielsen has said: “He needs to start having more good bits than the bad bits, and he needs to start doing that as soon as he can because Formula 1 is a business, it’s a very cutthroat business, and if people don’t deliver they go the obvious way.” He then went on to say that he’s sure Piquet can turn it around.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

14-May-08: Hamilton Tops Timesheets on Day 1 at Paul Ricard

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Today is the 14th May, welcome to F1 Minute.

The teams kicked off a three day test at the Paul Ricard circuit today, with Lewis Hamilton taking the initial lead. He posted the quickest time after completing the smallest number of laps. He was followed by Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Kubica was third fastest in the BMW.

Vettel got to drive the STR3 for the first time today, after Bourdais debuted it during the last test, and subsequently crashed it into the wall. Vettel finished the day in the middle of the timesheets, although he did cause one red flag during the day.

The other red flag came from Renault driver Luca di Grassi, who finished the day as the slowest driver on track.

Williams tested out a new piece of aerodynamics – trying out the engine cover fin as previously seen on the Red Bull and the Renault. And Honda were testing new variations on their dumbo-ears at the front of the car.

Elsewhere today, the Czech official who suggested Ron Dennis may have brought about the release of the Max Mosley video has apologised to McLaren.

That’s it for now, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.